Checklist

99 Data analysis:

Checklist

During the research study carried out in the teens English program at CENIUES, a qualitative instrument was used for the data collection, this consisted of a checklist which contained 7 statements with multiple choice. This instrument was used to observe the development of the class at the time of teaching vocabulary. The objective of using this instrument was to compare the information gathered from the teachers on the survey designed for them, with the information gathered from the survey designed for the students.

100 GRAPH N° 1, STATEMENT N° 1

Type of visual techniques teachers use when teaching vocabulary.

Analysis:

From the observation phase carried out at CENIUES; on the teens English program; it was observed that when teaching vocabulary, teachers use a variety of visual techniques. As a result, mimes and gestures with 21% and black board drawings with 17% are the ones teachers mostly use. Nevertheless; dramatizations, wall charts, illustration and pictures are also used by teachers because the 3 of them received 14% during the observation process. Moreover, flash cards represent the 10% as other visual techniques teachers make use of. On the other hand, PPP 3%, videos 7% and using objects 0% (realia) are rarely used when teaching vocabulary.

Interpretation:

It can be interpreted that visual techniques can function to help learners in remembering vocabulary better and also because they act as cues for remembering words. Takac (2008). So, based on the observation; when using visual techniques teachers help students to learn concrete vocabulary. Also, teachers must be careful to select the technique that works best with the type of learners they have in the classrooms. It can be observed in the graph that teachers make use of black board drawings and mimes and gestures to help students learn and remember the meaning or new words. Nevertheless, the most effective techniques such as flashcards, videos and power point presentations are rarely used in the classrooms and using them brings interest to the classrooms and get students interest in the new vocabulary presented in the class.

101 GRAPH N° 2, STATEMENT N° 2

Verbal techniques that teachers use when teaching vocabulary.

Analysis:

From the results in the previous graph, it can be observed that when teaching new vocabulary; the verbal techniques used the most are: repetition 23%, pronouncing the word 21%, and synonyms 19%. Nevertheless, giving commands 15% and antonyms 11% are the other verbal techniques used by teachers to help students get familiar with the new vocabulary presented. On the other hand; audio tracks 7% and songs 4% are often used in the classroom.

Interpretation:

It can be interpreted that when teachers present the new vocabulary to the students, and make use of verbal techniques such as repetition and also pronouncing the word, students get more comprehension and they grasp the concept about the new words presented. Also, they may be encouraged to use the new word or phrase in various contexts. Another form of verbal techniques is providing students with a synonym or a definition. By doing that, students are able to remember the meaning of the words, and also to associate the meaning with a similar word to use a new word with the same meaning in any other context, so the importance of verbal techniques when teaching vocabulary is highly recommended to help students remember the meaning of the word and also to put into practice the accurate pronunciation of the word presented.

102 GRAPH N° 3, STATEMENT N° 3

Type of audio-visual techniques teachers use when teaching vocabulary

Analysis:

Based on the graph n° 3, it can be observed that the audiovisual techniques used by the teachers when presenting new vocabulary are: power point presentations with 67% and then videos with 33%. As it is observed, movies are never used to present new vocabulary in the classrooms.

Interpretation:

According to the previous graph, the importance of audio visual techniques when working with teenage students is really fundamental because bringing technology into the classroom makes teaching easier, attractive and exciting. In addition, teaching English vocabulary by using audio visual aids will be appropriate to English learners since it provides an entertainment to the students; therefore, it will not only lead the vocabulary learning process interesting but also enjoyable. Another observation taken from the class is that audio visual materials help students to remember the words better, to recall vocabulary for usage in speaking and writing. As well, it helps the teacher to make the lesson more interesting and beneficial not only for him / her but also for the students since they become more interested in the topic and the new set of vocabulary presented in each lesson.

103 GRAPH N°4, STATEMENT N° 4

Other vocabulary teaching techniques that are used in the classroom

Analysis:

Based on the observation from the previous graph; guessing from context 21% and reading 19% are other vocabulary teaching techniques that are used in the classroom. However; translation 15%, writing a story 15%, and eliciting 13% are rarely used by teachers. On the other hand; games 7%, enumeration 4%, and matching columns 4% are sometimes used by teachers when they are presenting new vocabulary. While, contrast 2% and others 0%, are never used when teaching vocabulary.

Interpretation:

Based on the observation; it can be interpreted that the use of many other vocabulary teaching techniques are connected to each other to achieve the objective of helping students learn vocabulary. In the Graph N° 4, it is observed that reading is connected with guessing from context because students grasp the meaning of new words by the context of the text; another observation is that sometimes students are using translation to get the meaning of the new vocabulary presented in the class. However, it is important to keep in mind that in an EFL classroom a range of techniques might be used and those techniques might have different purposes, for example, teachers can use a variety of techniques to improve speaking, listening, reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation or other language skills. So, teachers can implement various types of vocabulary teaching techniques to facilitate the learning of new and meaningful vocabulary.

104 GRAPH5 N° 5, STATEMENT N° 5

Types of games the teachers implement in order to have students practice vocabulary.

Analysis:

From the previous graph it can be assumed that, some games used by the teachers on the class are: boardgames 34% and others 50% (hot potato, Simon says and mimic). Moreover, Crosswords 8% and hangman 8% are rarely used in the classroom. Domino, bingo and puzzles are never used when teaching vocabulary.

Interpretation:

According to the previous graph it can be interpreted that in order for students to practice new vocabulary, teachers use a variety of games to help students remember the meaning of the word. Indeed, a well-chosen game may help learners acquire English words easily. Moreover, Allen (1983), states that games are helpful because learners may feel that new words are essential and valuable because without those words, the object of the activity cannot be achieved. So, it is important to keep in mind that when integrating a game into a lesson the teachers should always ask themselves whether this game makes learners practice vocabulary and also if it is an effective game for the type of vocabulary he is teaching in the lesson.

105 GRAPH N° 6, STATEMENT N° 6

Type of vocabulary teaching techniques that work best when working with teenage students

Analysis:

Based on the results obtained on the previous graph; verbal techniques 44% are the most effective techniques when working with teenage students. On the other hand, visual techniques 31 % are also effective but are rarely used in the classroom. Audio visual techniques 25% are rarely used at CENIUES when working with teenage students.

Interpretation:

Based on the previous graph, it can be interpreted that when working with teenage students, teachers prefer to use verbal techniques rather than visual and audio-visual techniques because they think about the type of learners they have in the classroom and their age. In addition to this; when teaching vocabulary to teenage students, they may also be encouraged to use the new words or phrases in various contexts; and other forms of verbal techniques are providing students with a synonym, antonym or a definition. But it was observed that students need more visual information to represent the visual language skills before the verbal language development. So, it is necessary for teachers to keep in mind that a balance between verbal and visual techniques would help students understand 30% more than without the visual support.

106 GRAPH N°7, STATEMENT N° 7

Teacher’s role when teaching vocabulary.

Analysis:

According to the question, what is the teacher’s role in teaching vocabulary? When presenting new vocabulary, the teacher´s role depends on the topic and the vocabulary presented in the lesson. According to the graph: monitor 17%, facilitator 17%, and language resource 17%, are the most remarkable roles. Moreover; motivator 12%, authority 11%, involver 10%, and planner 7% depend on the topic and vocabulary knowledge. Nevertheless; prompter 3%, controller 3%, and trainer 3% are teachers´ roles that are rarely used when teaching vocabulary.

Interpretation:

Based on the results, it can be interpreted that the teacher has an important role since he/she is one of the main elements in the teaching and learning processes; therefore, how to teach language elements, how to create techniques, activities and how to make learners do these activities enthusiastically depends on the teacher’s role at the time of teaching vocabulary. Another important thing is that when teaching vocabulary, they must take into consideration the individual differences among the learners because learners have different abilities and interests. In addition, teachers should understand the nature of the language they are teaching taking into account not only the student´s age but also the student´s levels of language comprehension.

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